Lennox''s POV


    The air was warm, sweet with the scent of moonflowers. I blinked, and there she was.


    A woman in white stood before me, tall, stunning, her hair like liquid starlight. Her eyes glowed like the full moon itself. She smiled softly, and the world around us shimmered in response.


    "Lennox," she said, her voice both calm andmanding. "You have slept long."


    My throat ached when I spoke. "Who are you?"


    She tilted her head slightly. "The one who watched over you from your first howl beneath my light. The one you swore to when you became Alpha."


    Realization hit me like thunder. "The Moon Goddess…"


    She nodded gently. "Yes."


    My pulse quickened. "Where am I? Did I—" My voice faltered. "Did I die?"


    Her eyes dimmed, sadness flickering within their silver glow. "You were meant to."


    The words froze me. "Meant to?"


    "You gave your life for hers," she said softly. "The moment you shielded her, your soul broke its tether to the living. By allws of nature, you should not exist now."


    I swallowed hard. "Then… why am I here?"


    Her smile faded into something unreadable. "Because love is stubborn. Her cries reached me, even when her faith faltered. She begged for your return, not once, not twice, but every full moon for years."


    "Olivia…" I whispered, my chest tightening.


    The Moon Goddess said nothing. "Her heart refused to let you go. And so, I am giving you a chance to live again."


    My head snapped up. "A chance?"


    "Yes." Her expression darkened. "But ites with a price."


    I frowned. "What price?"


    "You will learn soon enough," she said simply. "For every life reborn, something of equal value is taken. That is the bnce of fate."


    "I don''t care," I said instantly. "If I can see her again, if she''s alive, I''ll pay whatever it takes."


    A flicker of sorrow crossed her face. "You may regret those words, Alpha Lennox."


    The silver light around her began to fade. Her voice echoed onest time as darkness swallowed everything again.


    "Wake. Your story is not yet over, but the world you left behind is no longer the same."


    A sharp gasp tore from my throat as I jolted awake.


    My lungs burned, my vision swam, and every bone in my body felt like it had been crushed and reassembled. The ceiling above me was white, unfamiliar. Tubes and glowing runes surrounded the bed, pulsing with faint blue light.


    I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my skull like fire. My head throbbed, memories shing in fragments—Olivia''s scream, blood, the ritual, the explosion of power, and then, nothing.


    "Where…" My voice came out rough, almost broken. "…where am I?"


    The door burst open. A young woman in healer''s robes stumbled inside, her eyes wide as they met mine. Her face was pale with shock.


    "You''re, you''re awake," she stammered. "You''re finally awake!"


    Her voice was so loud it made my head spin. I groaned and pressed a hand to my temple. "How long…"


    "Four years," she said breathlessly. "You''ve been unconscious for four years."


    The words hit me like a punch. Four years?


    I forced myself upright despite the pain, gripping the edge of the bed. "Where''s Olivia?"


    The healer froze. "What?"


    "Olivia," I said louder, desperation breaking through my voice. "How is she? Is she safe?"


    The woman blinked, hesitating, then spoke cautiously. "You… remember her?"


    "How could I forget?" I rasped. "She, I saved her. Is she okay? Where is she? Where are my brothers?"


    The woman''s lips twitched, her smile suddenly reced by a frown. "You seem awfully concerned for a family who hasn''t visited you once in four years."


    I froze, my blood running cold. "What did you say?"


    She folded her arms. "No one came. Not your brothers. Not your mate. Not anyone. You''ve been lying here alone, kept alive by magic, and that of my mother''s."


    My chest tightened painfully. "You''re lying."


    Her frown deepened. "Am I? If they cared, Alpha Lennox, where were they all this time?"


    My head pounded, my breathing uneven. I wanted to shout, to demand answers, but my body wouldn''t move the way it should.


    She turned toward the door.


    "Rest while you can. You''ll need your strength when you find out what they''ve built without you."


    The door closed behind her, leaving me dumbfounded. I frowned.


    Four years.


    The words echoed in my head, sharp and hollow. Four years… I''ve been lying here, lifeless? My heart thudded painfully against my chest. How could that be possible?


    I tried to make sense of it, but the room around me only made things worse. This wasn''t the mansion, not even close. The air smelled faintly of dust and herbs, the walls in and narrow. The bed beneath me was too small, the ceiling too low.


    This looked like one of the servants'' quarters back at the estate.


    Why would I, Alpha Lennox, be here?


    Something wasn''t right.


    I gripped the sheets tightly and tried to move, pushing my weight forward, but the moment I did, fire shot through my legs. Pain. Numbness. Then nothing.


    I froze.


    My hands trembled as I reached for my thighs, my knees, anything to feel movement. But they wouldn''t respond.


    No… no, no.


    I tried again, harder this time, using my arms to shift my body. My legs stayed stiff. Dead weight.


    Panic rose like a storm inside me. "Move!" I growled under my breath, trying again and again. "Move, damn it!"


    Nothing.


    My breathing quickened, my chest heaving as I mmed a fist against the mattress. "What did they do to me?"


    I closed my eyes and reached inward, trying to connect with the familiar presence, my wolf. My other half. My strength.


    But all I found was silence.


    No growl. No voice. No warmth. Just an empty void. It felt  like my wolf never existed. Like he was never there.


    My body went cold. "No…" I whispered. "No, this can''t be."